Connect with us

Search site

Menu

Main menu

January 14, 2010

The Manager Of The South Pole

No sunsets or sun rises. Twenty below zero is the average summer temp. No leaving in the winter, unless it’s an emergency. That’s all in a day’s work for the employees in Antarctica. Jerry Macala did a stint at the South Pole from 2001 to 2002. He says his time there was life changing. Now, he’s trying to save a piece of South Pole history: he’s trying to salvage a giant dome that’s being decommissioned. Dick talks with Jerry about what it’s like to work in Antarctica.

You might also like…

As senior astronomer of the S.E.T.I. Institute in California tells Dick he has no doubt life exists in other parts of the universe, and believes scientists are getting closer to finding it – it’s just a matter of time.

Neurologists are getting closer to understanding the rare condition known as face-blindness, but there are still many people who don’t know they have it. For 38 years, Heather Sellers knew there was something wrong. It was only when she saw the words “face recognition” that she understood why all those dates and friendships had gone so badly. Also: Kathy Misun and coincidences related to the song Danny Boy.

Abuses at nursing homes made the news several times this summer. Joyce Molino has seen those abuses herself. She worked at a nursing home for the mentally ill in Chicago. Shortly after she started, she saw roaches in the hallway and residents being beaten. The breaking point for her came when a female patient was raped. Joyce talks with host Dick Gordon about what happened after she blew the whistle. Also in this episode: from home appraiser to truck driver.

President Obama recently relaxed federal rules about stem cell research in the U.S. But for many years, Americans wanting to try experimental embryonic stem cell treatment have been traveling abroad. Rusty Leech was in an accident in 1998 that left him paralyzed from the middle of his back down. Since November 2007, Rusty has been to India three times for embryonic stem cell treatment. Also in this episode: Michigan's first gentleman.

Greg Hampikian is a forensic DNA expert who works using DNA technology to free innocent individuals in prison. He says that new technology is allowing smaller amounts of DNA to be analyzed, which means that more cases can be reopened, but that can also cause problems as there is more room for human error.

Matt Redinbo and Bret Wallace are celebrating the publication of their research article in the latest edition of the journal Science. The two were a part of a team that’s been working for a long time on ways to alleviate the difficult side effects of a common cancer drug called CPT-11. Also: a post-flood check-in with Roody Joseph, a missionary in Haiti. And: California mapmaker Frank Neilsen.

Dr. Sandeep Jauhar has often been struck by the chasm that can separate doctors and patients when it comes to treatment options. He was on the other side of that chasm when his wife needed surgery while she was pregnant. Sandeep and his wife wanted one kind of surgery - her doctors recommended another. He still struggles daily with the question of when to respect patients' wishes, and when to overrule. Also on the show: surviving flesh-eating bacteria.

More from Connecting With Haiti [1.14.10]

News

Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. When the country's capitol city was rocked by a 7.0 earthquake late Tuesday the whole world began keeping up through videos, blogs, tweets and Facebook posts. Today Dick Gordon speaks with a woman on the ground there, and others who are in the U.S., waiting desperately for news.